Flower math: how many flowers do I actually need for my DIY wedding?
This is the question I get more than any other! You've scrolled Pinterest for months, you've got an album full of wildflower bouquets as inspiration. What you don't have is any idea how many stems it takes to make any of it!
So let's do some flower math. (I also cover this in my free guide I created to help you plan your DIY wedding arrangements)
I sell bulk buckets of seasonal, pesticide-free flowers grown right here in St. Paul, Oregon, customized to whatever colors you're going for. My job is helping you land on the right amount before you order, so you're not guessing.
Three Categories of Flowers for your DIY Arrangements
Here's how I break it down. Every arrangement is made of 3 types of flowers:
Focal flowers: the big show-offs. (Think dahlias, roses, sunflowers)
Filler flowers: the smaller blooms that fill the gaps. (Like zinnias, daisies, marigolds)
Foliage: greenery, grasses, and things like eucalyptus that give structure to your bouquets.
The Minimum Stem Counts
When I talk about Stem Counts, I’m referring to an individual stem. This stem may be a Focal Flower, a Filler Flower, or Foliage.
In general, I like to use equal amounts of each of these categories in bouquets.
Here’s an example of a Bulk Bucket order. You’ll see large red roses as Focal Flowers, smaller white flowers for Filler Flowers, and greenery like the eucalyptus as Foliage.
These numbers are based off my experience making bouquets, but please know that for beginners I absolutely recommend ordering extra flowers! An experienced florist can make a fewer number of stems look really full, so treat these numbers as minimum counts.
Bridal bouquet: 40-50 stems. This is your moment, so don't skimp! A full bouquet usually runs 40-50 stems once you count focals, filler, and greenery together.
Bridesmaid bouquets: 20-30 stems each. Smaller than the bridal bouquet, this is enough stems to make a small handheld bouquet. Multiply this by however many bridesmaids you've got.
Bud vases: 3-5 stems per vase. Forgiving and fun! A couple of large flowers or a mix of several smaller flowers together in a bud vase is all you need.
Table centerpieces: 20-30 stems per vase. For reference, this is the minimum number of stems to fit in a vase the size of a narrow-mouth mason jar.
Welcome table arrangement: 30-40 stems. This is a great opportunity to make a statement piece so plan on lots of stems.
Arch or arbor: 50-100+ stems. This is where the math gets fuzzy, because every arch is so different. A simple greenery swag with a few flower clusters might need 50 stems. A fully flower-covered arch will need hundreds of stems.
Boutonnieres: 3-5 stems each. Small but they add up fast once you count groomsmen, ring bearers, family, etc.
This bouquet has at least 30 stems in it
This is an example of what 60 stems of Focals, Fillers, and Foliage might look like
Doing the math for your whole wedding
Let’s look at an example.
Say you've got 10 dinner tables, 1 bridal bouquet, 4 bridesmaids, and a welcome table. Your Flower Math might look like this:
10 tables x 30 stems per centerpiece = 300 stems
1 bridal bouquet = 50 stems
4 bridesmaid bouquets x 30 stems = 120 stems
1 Welcome Table arrangement = 40 stems
That's a little over 500 stems, give or take, which would be about 9 of my 60-Stem Bulk Buckets of Flowers. Every wedding is different, but if you have questions, shoot me an email and we’ll work through it!
What’s Special about Seasonal Flowers?
The flowers that come in my bulk buckets change with the season, so what's blooming in June looks different than what's blooming in September. Which I think makes your wedding feel personal and more connected to the season.
Another example of a bulk bucket in Spring
Also, everything is grown without pesticides (unlike when you buy from a big retailer), so that means you won’t be exposing yourself to harmful chemicals when you’re handling the flowers.
All the flowers in my DIY Bulk Buckets are grown on land my family has farmed for 6 generations now. You're getting flowers that haven’t been flown in from halfway across the world, that aren't dyed weird colors, and that look like they were freshly picked by a human and not shrink wrapped in plastic.
And you better believe I want your wedding flowers looking like you made them with your own hands, not necessarily Pinterest-perfect. Unique flowers, a little asymmetry, flowers that don’t look like they were manufactured in a warehouse…that's the whole point of DIY-ing your own wedding! It’s supposed to feel personal and like YOU!
What's next
There’s a couple options. If you’re doing a smaller wedding (ie 3 bulk buckets or fewer), then go ahead and order bulk buckets.
However, if you want to get more specific with varieties and colors or you need several hundred stems, then contact me and we’ll work together to grow exactly what you want.
Want help figuring out your exact stem count? Reach out and I'll walk through your wedding with you, table count, bouquet sizes, all of it, and put together a rough quote.
Want to practice your skills before jumping into DIY-ing your own wedding florals? Come to one of my bouquet workshops this summer and we’ll walk through the process of making your own bouquets together!
A colorful bulk bucket in June for a DIY bride